Due Dec 2023 - part 6

[Nclktnntt]

Follow-on from part 5 heading into delivery and motherhood.

We use the love to dream suits too - have used them since he was newborn and now use them for naps too. Our room gets quite cold so we have a 2.5 tog and have the heating on for an hour before bedtime and then have it timed to come on for an hour at 3am. LO has been sleeping between 7-9 hours at night now.
His naps really aren't great - he wakes after 30 minutes like clockwork. Sometimes I can get him back down again but he's definitely not as good at it as he used to be!

For those breastfeeding, how many feeds do you give a day? We're still having anything between 6-9 feeds a day (every 2-3 hours from wakeup-bedtime). I'm trying to cut it back to every 3 hours so that weaning will be a bit easier when the time comes, but sometimes he'll want fed after an hour and a half! Other mums I've spoken to are down to every 4 hours now

@Charlielechat I'm still breastfeeding on demand so I feed whenever he wants it! Usually this is every 2 hours but can be more. My eldest was the same! Every baby is different but for me it was hard to be on a feeding schedule until I started weaning. Once i introduced food I found he just naturally fell into more of a structured pattern with bigger gaps and I'm hoping this baby is the same!

@ejg504 that's helpful thank you! It's hard when experts say one thing, but the reality is very different!

On demand here, usually every 2 hours or so, very occasionally 3. He wakes every 45 - 90 min at night to feed too 😅

My huckleberry app reckons every 2.5 hours, but seeing as we’re getting 5 - 8 hour stretches overnight it must be much more frequent than that during the day.

Essentially we feed after every nap and occasionally more often. I’m happy with that as she’s getting loads of calories during the day which I think is helping the night sleep.

@Mushroo Yeah that's my thinking too, he's well stocked up for bedtime which is working well. So hard to know what's best to do!

Fed on demand I actually have no idea but he feeds a lot during the day and then 1-2 times at night. They’ll cut down by themselves when on food. I never had a schedule with my first honestly but by the time he was 11 months it was first thing nap times and bedtime ( and anywhere from twice to a million times overnight). Cut back to morning and night at 15 months and then weaned totally by 18 months.

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good Sunday.
I think my little boy who turns 12 weeks old this week may have started another growth spurt or fussy phase, and I'm also suspecting that he may be starting to teeth, so I'm wondering if anyone else's LO is showing similar symptoms/behaviour?

• Chews on hand pretty much all the time and drools
• Doesn't nap well during the day and doesn't want to settle (even in his love to dream sleep suit). He also wakes up screaming as if something is bothering him - max 1 hour sleep (previously he'd sleep for a minimum of an hour each nap)
• Wants food every 2 hours (he's formula fed and currently on 180ml) but in the last couple of days doesn't finish the bottle
• I've noticed that his cheeks have been red a few times in the last few days

Also, is anyone experiencing knee pain? I've briefly read about joint pain postpartum and knee pain seems to be a thing. Would love to know if anyone else experienced really bad knee pain and what did you do to get rid of it - I can barely kneel down at the moment.

Honestly I just read this aloud to my husband and we could have written this about our daughter! She's not quite needing food every 2 hours but we are on the max of 210mls and she's looking for food when we're reaching the 3 hours so I'm nervous at what happens next as there are no more measurements on the formula tin to go up to! Lol. Perhaps I will have to think about early weaning but not sure. I've heard a lot of people introducing baby rice/porridge at 3/4 months. Anyone done that on here?

@Beans1982 Yes to the chewing hands! LO seemed to discover his hands last week but in the last few days has been chewing non-stop, especially at bedtime. Normally he goes to sleep straight away at night but the last few nights has just wanted to chew his hands, spits out the dummy and groans while he chews, so I think he might be teething. Have bought some teething powder to try tonight if he does it again!

Yes also in this stage. They’re almost never teething they just find their hands and their salivary glands start to work so mega drooly. Weirdly my wee one has lost his thumb he was an avid thumb sucker and now can’t seem to get just his thumb ends up with his whole hand in his mouth and he’s angry about it😂. We were having him sleeping through and that seems to have stopped which is a bit sad although sleep still much much better than big brothers was at this stage.

Not sure if any of you have heard of it but the wonder weeks app is amazing, it tells me when little one is due to be fussy, and what skills he's learning and what games to play to help those skills. Just helps make sense of the days he's refusing to go down.

He's going through a fussy stage just now but has also just started to sleep through the night so wanting more food during the day to make up for the missed night feed and sleeping less during the day.

@chloesl1808 i think it’s just important that they can sit unsupported as this then mitigates choking risks, if they can’t properly hold their head up then good might get stuck
have you tried the Hungry baby formulas? They’re advertised to be used when it’s too early to wean so they may gel for a little while?
im hoping to wean my LO earlier than 6 months but am just waiting for him to be physically ready - he’s a hungry boy though and is very interested in what I’m eating already

Hi @chloesl1808 you can just keep adding the single formulation ontop, so in our case 30ml a to every scoop would mean the next stage would be 240ml to 8scoops. Or feed less more often is also another option you could do

@chloesl1808 you could always do what I'm doing just now, my little one is going through a growth spurt and has just started sleeping through the night so is wanting more food and more often through the day - I'm not ready to move up a bottle size yet, and it's only for a week or so, so I make his 150 bottle and an extra 60ml in his small bottle. Sometimes he wants it straight away and other times it's within 30 mins of him finishing his bigger bottle.

@SMG1992 we did actually buy the hungry baby aptamil but when I checked with my health visitor she said not to use it as they would only really recommend that in consultation with a doctor as it can make baby constipated and have other digestive problems so didn't want to risk it.

@Nclktnntt sounds good thanks! Might give it a try if she shows signs of being hungry again. It could have just been how she was feeling the other day but she seems to have settled down and is looking for food 3.5-4 hours so seem to be back into a proper feeding schedule.

I don't want to wish time away but I am so excited to wean her and let her have the glorious tastes of food instead of milk all the time

is anyone on prescription formula? They gave my baby aptamil pepti 1 yesterday as they suspect cmpa (im not entirely sure it is, im wondering if it’s severe acid reflux) and she is refusing to take it. I tried a full bottle aptamil pepti which she refused. Then I done half aptamil with half old formula she refused this too. Ended up doing 3 scoops old formula and 1 scoop new formula which she drank but I think she only drank this as she was starving. She cried through out. I’m really struggling ☹️ she takes gaviscon for the reflux. They gave me omeprazole last week, we tried this once and she screamed for about 3 hours after it. Then I done some research and don’t feel comfortable giving her it. At my wits end, feel like I’m failing her. Not sure what to do now.

@99SR I’ve not used the dairy free formula but my eldest does have a milk allergy. I think the formula isn’t that nice tasting and they don’t always like it. Have heard tricks of putting in some vanilla essence in it to help with the flavour.

Anyones LO try to fight every nap (unless in the pram or car)? My LO needs a nap every 2 hours, he gets cranky like clockwork so he defo needs it. I have to pick him up and rock him, but stand in the corner of the room so that he has nothing to look at to distract him. He then screams at me for a few mins, then he finally gives in and is asleep within about 10 seconds once he does. It's wearing a bit thin now and wish he would just go to sleep when he is tired, rather than me having to have him scream in my ear every 2.5 hours 🤦🏼‍♀️

I'm tempted to start getting him to nap in his next to me cot, but I am pretty sure it's going to be a battle to get him to fall asleep in his cot, and not sure how I can manage on the days I have my 3YO too.

How old is your LO @Cindy1802 mines been fighting his day sleeps for the last 6 weeks (from around week 6) but we are much calmer during the fight now. Around week 10 (last week) I have to walk around without th him facing out, then when he's ready (and I sometimes miss it) he wants to spin in and snuggle into my neck... kills my back but he'll drop off really quick. Otherwise I'm in the corner of the room like yourself. I find if he kicks off though, going for a walk to 'reset' almost, really helps for a calmer sleep. He only sleeps about 30 mins at a time though just now.

I'll probably eat this when mine refuses again, but mine was similar after 2 hours. So I started trying to get him to nap at the 1hr 30/1hr 45 mark. Fell asleep quicker with less tears and fighting. If I don't clock watch and get him down and it's closer to 2 hours he'll have a little temper tantrum with a final warrior cry then conks out. But mine does only contact nap (though been trying to get first nap in his next to me past couple days as he's potentially CMPA and reflux, so I need my hands free to pump for the infant gaviscon).

@Nclktnntt he's 13 weeks. I'll give that a go, but it's hard when I've got my 3YO too as I find time runs away with me - I can hear him getting cranky and look at the time and realise its nap time. Maybe I need to try and catch him before he's too tired.

@FlyingHighFlyingLow yep maybe I need to clock watch a bit better. Thankfully though once he is asleep I can transfer him into his bouncer chair and turn the vibrate on, and he does stir but I give him a couple of bounces and he will stay asleep. Only for 30 mins though, he's nothing but consistent 🤣

How are you getting on with the gaviscon? Is he any more settled? Mine is happy to take it with water. He still spits some of it out, but no more than he does when I mix it with breast milk.

He's dropped from 75th to 25th centile so since it needs diluting in about an ounce I want to try get it in milk to avoid the loss of calories. He's much more settled today, touching all the wood, but I also gave up dairy so no idea if one is helping or just a fluke!